Retirement Security for All campaign
Brown signs retirement savings bill
Legislation will help all workers have opportunity for a modest pension
With the stroke of his pen, Gov. Jerry Brown took a bold step toward retirement security for millions of workers by signing SB 1234, a bill strongly backed by Local 1000, other SEIU locals and a wide range of allies.
"Every state should be looking at California right now because this puts our state in the forefront of addressing a very serious national crisis - retirement security," said Yvonne R. Walker, president of SEIU Local 1000 and chair of SEIU's Retirement Committee. "This legislation will be a model for how our nation addresses retirement security for all workers. I fully expect other states to study SB 1234 and follow suit with their own legislation."
Legislation will help all workers have opportunity for a modest pension
With the stroke of his pen, Gov. Jerry Brown took a bold step toward retirement security for millions of workers by signing SB 1234, a bill strongly backed by Local 1000, other SEIU locals and a wide range of allies.
"Every state should be looking at California right now because this puts our state in the forefront of addressing a very serious national crisis - retirement security," said Yvonne R. Walker, president of SEIU Local 1000 and chair of SEIU's Retirement Committee. "This legislation will be a model for how our nation addresses retirement security for all workers. I fully expect other states to study SB 1234 and follow suit with their own legislation."
SB 1234, co-authored by senators Kevin De León and Darrell Steinberg, establishes California as a leader among states in creating new retirement plans for private sector workers.
"We supported this bill because we want to see every worker have the opportunity to retire with dignity," said Walker, who co-presented the bill with De León to an Assembly committee.
SEIU's President Mary Kay Henry applauded the efforts of Local 1000 activists and members of other locals to pass SB 1234.
"This legislation will turn around the whole national discussion about pensions and retirement security," Henry said. "We need to stop trying to cut pensions and instead look at creative ways to help all workers obtain a secure retirement."
Other groups that joined SEIU to help pass the bill were the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the Congress of California Seniors and the National Hispanic Institute on Aging.
"Secure Choice" will act as a supplement to Social Security for low and middle income workers who do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
This affordable plan would be professionally managed and portable so workers could take their retirement savings from job to job.
The lack of sufficient retirement savings poses a significant threat to the state's already strained safety net programs and exacerbates the state's high unemployment rate as seniors are forced to work longer, leaving fewer jobs available for younger workers trying to enter the workforce.
"This legislation will make a huge difference in the lives of thousands of California workers and their families," said Manny Rodriguez, an employee of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) who was one of more than 20 members who lobbied in support of the bill.
"We supported this bill because we want to see every worker have the opportunity to retire with dignity," said Walker, who co-presented the bill with De León to an Assembly committee.
SEIU's President Mary Kay Henry applauded the efforts of Local 1000 activists and members of other locals to pass SB 1234.
"This legislation will turn around the whole national discussion about pensions and retirement security," Henry said. "We need to stop trying to cut pensions and instead look at creative ways to help all workers obtain a secure retirement."
Other groups that joined SEIU to help pass the bill were the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the Congress of California Seniors and the National Hispanic Institute on Aging.
"Secure Choice" will act as a supplement to Social Security for low and middle income workers who do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
This affordable plan would be professionally managed and portable so workers could take their retirement savings from job to job.
The lack of sufficient retirement savings poses a significant threat to the state's already strained safety net programs and exacerbates the state's high unemployment rate as seniors are forced to work longer, leaving fewer jobs available for younger workers trying to enter the workforce.
"This legislation will make a huge difference in the lives of thousands of California workers and their families," said Manny Rodriguez, an employee of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) who was one of more than 20 members who lobbied in support of the bill.